Love's Cruel Embrace
by Jacy Pane
Summary: Shepard has been naughty, flirting with the Normandy crew and word has started to spread to all participants in the quadrangle.  Things have started to become awkward and Garrus is conflicted.  First chapter is up.


A/N: I don't own anything. Mass Effect and the characters in it belong to Bioware.

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><p>He had already told her his intentions, but nothing seemed to change on the Normandy. Every time he passed through the armory he could feel the icy stares from the soldier. The few times he took breaks from calibrating to take a piss, he could feel the atmosphere thicken from the Life Support Control Room. Unfortunately, It was no secret; things had become so awkward that you could cut through it with a knife.<p>

Garrus worked in silence, lightly pressing his fingers over the holographic controls, trying his hardest to focus on his tasks. He started to become sloppy, changing settings he had perfected on the weapons, settings that took hours. Upon realizing his mistakes, he started to correct them, but the more he tried, the more frustrated he became.

"Dammit!"

Garrus made a tight fist and swiftly swung it down to crash on the metal console. He shouldn't have done it. The reverberation forced pain to surge up his arm, causing him to grunt beneath his breath. He cradled his abused hand to his chest as he stared down at the screen. His mind continued to wander towards the commander and her 'extracurricular activities'. He had to see her, had to confront her.

He ran his free hand over his fringe before turning towards the door and stepping through. The Turian had made up his mind. He would get this over with, like ripping off a dried piece of Medi-Gel.

_"Thanks for inviting me to eat dinner with you, Shepard. I've been looking forward to this!"_

He stopped dead in his tracks as he peered around the corner to see his beloved commander and...and...the Yeoman? Garrus's eyes widened at the sight as he quickly lined his back against the wall, remaining somewhat hidden as he carefully stared at the two making their way towards him with freshly prepared food. No doubt it was made by Sergeant Gardner. They would have surely seen him had they not been staring at each other the entire time. He felt like a dirty voyeur seeing those two women disappear together into the elevator. Once he was sure they were gone, he leaned against the wall, even more conflicted.

Garrus shouldn't have been surprised. He remembered being on the first Normandy, seeing the love triangle between Liara and Kaidan. Word traveled in that ship, just as it did in this one. Everyone knew she was a flirty woman, but it appeared she was taking things too far once again. Had he looked too far into their visits? He was there on Horizon; he saw the look on Kaidan's face, saw the intimate hug they shared. Her actions were betraying him and he was willing to be the other guy.

His head was racing with thoughts and it became difficult for him to think clearly through the muck. Garrus slowly pushed himself off the wall, then turned back towards his work station. He only made it a few feet before he shook his head, then suddenly turned towards the elevator.

Giggles emitted from the door leading to the commander's chambers. Even before the elevator reached the top floor, Garrus could hear them. They were just mere feet ahead of him, cackling like a couple of school girls. He snorted at the idea, shaking his head in disapproval as he stood there, arms crossed over his chest. What were they doing in there? Part of him felt ashamed for eavesdropping on Shepard, and the other part knew he deserved answers. First him, then Thane, then Jacob, and now the Yeoman? What was she trying to do? He began weighing out his thoughts of the situation. He knew he held no claims to her, after all she was his commander, but they were friends, no, they were more than that, or so he thought. Garrus stood there, pondering for a good amount of time.

"What am I doing here...?"

The Turian finally muttered as he rubbed his fringe. What was this feeling that washed over him? It didn't make any sense. After witnessing Shepard and Kelly on their date, he began to wonder what he saw in Shepard. She was stringing him along, but she was fit, strong, reliable, beautiful...sexy...

He let out another sigh as he stepped up to the door, trying to ease his head closer without activating the sensors. It was no good. His stance caused him to lose his balance and suddenly he found himself falling towards the door.

_No! No! NO!_

Clunk. He placed his hands out in front of him, preparing to catch his fall and be caught in the process by an all too angry commander, but it suddenly occurred to him that he had landed on the door. The sensors didn't go off; the door was locked from the inside and the laughing had suddenly stopped.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!_

In a blink of an eye he had rushed back into the elevator, furiously pressing on the lower level buttons, any button that would take him anywhere, but where he was. Luckily for him the elevator doors finally shut and he was on his way to escape.

Shepard curiously glanced over at the door, hearing the dull sound from the other side. She casually took another sip of her wine and prepared herself to stand. After steadying herself on the table, she slowly stood up, staggered towards the door, and entered the key code, but the hum of the elevator was the only thing that met her on the other end. Someone had been here and left.

"It's getting late, Shepard. I should get going."

She glanced back over at Kelly, smiling at her in her drunken stupor as she nodded, watching the red head make her way towards her.

"Thanks for having dinner with me. I had a really good time."

"Me too, Kelly. Thanks for listening."

The two hugged before Shepard retreated into her quarters.


End file.
